Review: 31108 Caravan Family Holiday
Posted by Huw,
While the minifigures in LEGO City are busy solving crimes and fighting fires, those in Creator sets are left to participate in more peaceful pursuits, such as camping and caravanning.
This year's addition the genre is 31108 Caravan Family Holiday, which includes a traditional caravan, more often seen in the UK than the USA and Europe, where vehicles like the RV in 31052 Vacation Getaways are more numerous and popular.
Let's park it up somewhere for a post lock-down staycation...
Minifigures and mini-models
The set contains a very generous three minifigures, mum, dad and son.
Parts are provided in numbered bags which encourages you to build the main model first. I'm not convinced that is necessarily a good thing in the case of Creator sets because I would rather build the alternate models first then build the main one last to keep intact.
Anyway, before getting stuck into the vehicles, a number of mini-models are constructed, including a beaver...
... and a skunk. Clearly, we are in North America rather than Europe, then!
A paddle board, a conifer with a rather nice blue bird on top, and a picnic table complete the peripheral builds
The car
The car is surprisingly large, solid and parts-intensive, including 60-odd dark azure parts, four designs of which are new in this colour, most notably Brick 1X2, Outside Half Bow and Plate W. Bow 2X2X2/3.
The boot lifts like a hatchback and the roof can be removed to reveal four seats and a good number of details in the interior.
The whole family can thus be seated, after entering via the opening side doors.
The caravan
Like the car, the caravan is also bigger and heavier than you might imagine.
A skylight window, air conditioning unit and satellite dish adorn the roof, and a couple of 'legs' at the front can be lowered to keep it level when not being towed.
There's an awning on the right-hand side but when not in use it merely folds down rather than folds away, as was the case with that in 31052 Vacation Getaways.
The other side opens to access the interior.
The inside is packed with details including a bed, fold-up tables and chairs, a toilet in the corner...
...a sink, cooker, bedside table with lamp, and a plant pot.
The car and van are well proportioned and look pretty good together on display. That is, until...
... you add the minifigures! They are not minfig-scale by any stretch of the imagination. The van is three times the height of one, for starters.
Alternate models
I have not built the other two models, so I'll use stock photos instead.
This small camper van looks pretty good although the spurious patches of blue spoil it somewhat. I would replace them with white from my spare parts.
The third mode, a lighthouse, looks almost good enough to be a stand-alone set.
Verdict
I was surprised how parts-intensive and detailed the car and van are. There is a lot of play potential in both but that has come at the cost of scale. These will not look good in your City because they are too big. But as stand-alone models, they are both very good indeed.
The scale problem won't bother kids, of course, and it's nothing new: 31052 Vacation Getaways, pictured with it below, suffered from it too.
Creator sets always offer good value for money and plenty of play potential, both with the main model and also taking it apart to build the other ones, so this would make an excellent gift for a young builder who wants more than to build once and display.
AFOLs who are prepared to overlook the scale issue will find much to like here, too, including the bounty of dark azure parts.
It's available from LEGO.com in Europe now and should be released on 1st August in North America.
Thanks to LEGO for providing the set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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50 comments on this article
Its not like caravans don't exist in the USA... my grandfather had one just like this set for many years.
That red/orange/yellow stripe on the camper gives me a total 70s vibe. Anybody else?
It still feels overpriced despite its relatively large size. I'm definitely waiting for some sensible discounts before jumping to it.
I've wanted a four-seater car as a set since I was a kid, but I've since learned it's nearly impossible to build a four-seater car for minifigs that scales well with them. In order to fit four minifigs, it has to be scaled up until it seems much larger next to them than it "should", or it has to be "stretched" until the proportions no longer look good. There are so many other good sets this release season that this one is a pass.
@JintaiZ said:
"I feel like that The LEGO Group should release the set on the same day in all regions, as someone who lives in North America, I don't think it's fair..."
I think we can give LEGO a pass since our closest manufacturing plant in Mexico has been closed for COVID until recently.
Covid delays aside, analyzing who got what first in what region is a pretty petty complaint unless you’re Jang or someone similar who needs a product for their content in a timely manner. Most consumers will get these summer sets this summer...
Great set. I’ll buy as soon as I see it.
It's a really nice set, reminds me of my grandfather's caravan
It is definitely oversized . . . but then, so are pretty much all cars in modern Lego sets, minus a few Creator ones. Even the official sedans are taller than a minifigure (that's why I actually use cars that are too small for minifigures to fit into in my town display). Still, this takes it to extremes. But I do like the great use of space--and I agree with CarolinaOnMyMind about the '70s look. I dig that, too!
What do you think, which one is better, the RV or the Camper? (I think the RV had better alternative builds.)
If I own the RV, what does this set has to offer me? Do I need this, if I want to buy the Creator pirate ship?
Btw, thx for the comparison picture.
Huw, does the boy’s height, and unfoldable legs interfere with the roof?
I believe there's supposed to be space to take the awning off of the side of the van and hide it under the roof when not in use, it connects to the edge of the corner door frame and rests on a protruding 1x2 tile.
The camper is very nice but the minivan really isn't, it does what it needs to but it looks strange and rather ugly. On balance Vacation Getaways is probably the better set, so much more that can be done with that RV than with two separate vehicles.
I kind of feel we should overlook the scaling issues on the basis this is something for kids to play with. I imagine many of them will be less concerned with its size (relative to other Lego vehicles and buildings) than they are with it being fun to play with. I, for one, think this is a great set; not sure if I'll buy it myself, on the basis I love the yellow camper van Lego released a while ago.
I always prefer this kind of sets over regular city vehicle sets. That being said, the price increase is ridiculous. 31052 has 30 more pieces and is $20 cheaper. That one is also a better set imo.
A first sight love!!
When I saw this set I knew that I wanted. We have a caravan and I have modified the 60117 Van-Caravan to better replicate ours. I have been convincing my wife to let me buy it to modify the present version. I liked this new caravan because it is 8 stud wide and it includes more details, specially the toilet. The new width it should be highlighted in the review. It is more real.
With a 6-stud wide caravan, I have to manage to include our big bed and the bunks. At present I use a minifigure with short legs to represent my son, so the minifigure can be displayed perpendicularly to the caravan, as the bunks are. But he will grow up. So I needed a wider caravan.
This model provides me useful parts, which will be complemented with my own collection. The car is also 8-stud wide, which is better to represent the real position of us in the car when we travel. I compare both models and the scale is very different, as pointed in the article, but, however, I think the new one is more real, because the wide is consistent with the length, as in the new Speed Champions cars (largely discussed in Brickset). With regard to the height, ok, it can be better, but it can be solved.
I have also constructed the other models. The phare is nice as seen in the photo, but perhaps it could be bigger with the extra parts. The Autocaravan is also nice, although it uses the azure parts. However, the inside is not so detailed as in the caravan.
Briefly, a must-have set. After replicating my own caravan and use the parts from the set, I am even thinking to buy another one to have it as it is.
Finally, I like the first paragraph of the article. City sets are about police and firefighters. The last "city" sets I have bought are all from Creator 3in1, ha ha ha ha!!
@iwybs said:
"I've wanted a four-seater car as a set since I was a kid, but I've since learned it's nearly impossible to build a four-seater car for minifigs that scales well with them. In order to fit four minifigs, it has to be scaled up until it seems much larger next to them than it "should", or it has to be "stretched" "
I agree, but the taxi from 41101 is surprisingly good in this respect
Wow, that caravan is more detailed and complete than most Lego apartments!
Glad to see the bathroom on this one actually has a decent door. Vacation Getaways toilet doesn't even have a door - it's just behind one of front seats. The Friends one has a door but it's transparent !!
I mean staying in a caravan means living on top of each other but you do want a bit of privacy for when you need to wee.
Although I can't see where the kid is meant to sleep.
EUR 20 too expensive.
Vacation Getaways was the first set I bought for myself after decades of giving Lego as gifts. It reminded me of the RV my son and I rented every summer for camping with friends by the beach, and just like a real RV, 31052's RV was too big in some ways, but not roomy enough in others! Thanks for the review!
@Mylenium said:
"It still feels overpriced despite its relatively large size. I'm definitely waiting for some sensible discounts before jumping to it."
Agreed: very overpriced. I will be looking for at least 60% off the price before thinking about buying this.....
The play scale of vehicles like those are correct, any smaller and it would be a struggle.
Im wondering if Minifigures are too small..
@bookmum said:
"Glad to see the bathroom on this one actually has a decent door. Vacation Getaways toilet doesn't even have a door - it's just behind one of front seats. The Friends one has a door but it's transparent !!"
It however also has two windows, one of which is very large for a toilet...
Forgot to mention that I really like the beaver and skunk builds, as well as the car of course - yes it's 8 wide and yes you can make two minifigs fit side by side in a 6 wide car (not with custom doors like these though) but I very much appreciate the unusual seating for four, the very generous boot/trunk space and the interior details.
Oh and that's a clever use of a headlight brick as the "lock" for the openable caravan wall.
@vader11 said:
"I always prefer this kind of sets over regular city vehicle sets. That being said, the price increase is ridiculous. 31052 has 30 more pieces and is $20 cheaper. That one is also a better set imo."
I'm seeing 70 on the USA Shop at Home site, like 31052 was, though 31052 was down to $45-ish by November. (the one in my house only cost $42!)
as a possessor of the 31052 set, this one is really cool! I might actually get it!
Those animals are adorable little builds!
Bonkers RRP though... Definitely priced-to-discount; just like those fancy Technic sports cars, you'd be mad to buy this at full price.
Love the little beaver, and it’s such a fun set to build. I found the awning strut a little awkward, but apart from that it’s great.
What might not be apparent at first is that the toilet has a window facing directly into it! Few privacy issues for a minifigure there!
The camper van is a surprisingly clever build too, given the part available. Perhaps, as lacking with the Pirate Ship review, all 3 builds should be covered for a Creator 3-in-1 set rather than stock photos.
@Huw, why don't you like to build alternative models?!? It's the best thing about Lego, building! You can build main model, alternative models and than build main model again, you know. Live a little, be bold!
Very nice picnic table.
Love the caravan. Awning folds down, love this better than folds away, bricks better than cloth.
"has come at cost of scale" what scale? 4-wide cars? 6-wide cars?
This is great size for my City, with space for driver and co-driver. I got cars and trucks in 8-wide scale. And new Speed Racers are 8 wide, so would go with them too.
But the car is ugly, chunky, chubby. I'll skip this one.
I'm a sucker for Lego caravans and campers and own seven of them. However, the car is too big and I think it's worth, to me, closer to $60 to $65. A good set but not a must buy.
@gsom7 said:
" @Huw, why don't you like to build alternative models?!? It's the best thing about Lego, building! You can build main model, alternative models and than build main model again, you know. Live a little, be bold!"
Time constraints, primarily. I have a busy website to run :)
Scale? Why not bring back the maxifig, do so love my 192.
This thing should be right up my alley but the only thing I really like about it is the beaver.
Ah yes, this set includes a wall that opens STRAIGHT INTO THE BATHROOM.
When I first saw this article, I read the title as “Caveman Family Holiday” and I thought, I am buying THAT right now!
In my humble opinion, anyone who gets the set should give the c model a try, the pictures don't really do the interior detail justice.
I love the colours of the car and van, and the minifigures do look a bit silly right next to the car!
The "spurious patches of blue" on the alternate model actually seem pretty typical to me!
Worth buying, if only for the opportunity to do a Top Gear-themed caravan destruction MOC.
No one gonna say it? Let's see how Jack Stone looks for scale...
I've always thought the older vans and campers were nicely proportioned and had some cuteness factor working for them. As they got bigger and biigger I don't feel like that anymore. I had to MOC couple of vans and campers to enrich my town, since Lego abandoned 4 stud fans.
Fantastic set I think. I love the brick-built critters. Very cute, and also clever.
@Huw said:
" @gsom7 said:
" @Huw , why don't you like to build alternative models?!? It's the best thing about Lego, building! You can build main model, alternative models and than build main model again, you know. Live a little, be bold!"
Time constraints, primarily. I have a busy website to run :)"
I see that you are dedicated to your site by answering to me in 00:11h on a working day! Thank you for both. Long live Huw and brickset.com! Cheers Huw! :D
Oh, and about review, "share the burden", I'm sure you'll easy find among brickset members who would like to do review(s).
More on scale, what about minifigs and 8-wide cars, 10-wide vans, 12-wide trucks and buses?! It all looks great in TLBM!
I'm not for 12-wide, but we have sets with 8-wide cars: this one, Speed Racers, 70906, 70907 (with normal wheels), 76083, 70421 (with normal wheels),... And 10-wide truck trailers: 7726, 8654, 10244, 75913,...
My 2 cents:
Looks great but the RRP is beyond ridiculous. Especially when compared to its predecessor which had more pieces for 20 Euro less.
This needs a massive discount before it becomes interesting to me.
Secondly, that 70s vibe is unmistakable, and I immediately had pictures of the "Holy Trinity" and their fondness for destroying caravans in mind.
Lastly, that car to me looks like a modern version of the Weasleys' Ford Anglia :-)
Gotta say the price kills it. $120 Australian is just dumb, the other Creator sets are quite fairly priced.
Nice Beaver!
@Mr_Cross said:
"Nice Beaver!"
Priceless ;-)
These animals are amazing.
Great set but very overpriced, especially at €89.99 here.
The Pirate Ship has 500 more parts (or 66% more) for €99.99.
Yknow @Huw, if you really want, we can import some skunks over to the U.K. and Europe.
Great looking set. I could easily incorporate this into my city. When I saw the pictures, I kept thinking, "what Speed Champion drivers buy when they retire."
For some reason, I have nothing against models being too small for minifigs (eg. System Star Destroyer) and really like them, but once it's too big, it kind of scares me. It just looks strange, the minifigs look lost against these monstrosities.
Also: 80€? Not too sure a car and camper should be an 80€ set. I agree, that there are a lot of details, bricks, one can argue about the play value - but making the decision first of all to sell a car and camper for 80€ wasn't ideal in my book.
@Isabella_and_Lego_Liker said:
" @vader11 said:
"I always prefer this kind of sets over regular city vehicle sets. That being said, the price increase is ridiculous. 31052 has 30 more pieces and is $20 cheaper. That one is also a better set imo."
I'm seeing 70 on the USA Shop at Home site, like 31052 was, though 31052 was down to $45-ish by November. (the one in my house only cost $42!)"
I was referring to the EU and UK prices since there was no mention of US price. Either way should be a $40-$60 set.